Spacer for joints in wall construction



Jan. 16, 1934. H. A. OSBORNE SPACER FOR JOINTS IN WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed July 20, 1932 -55 engage the ends of the tile.

Patented Jan. 16, 1934 PATENT OFFICE SPACER FOR JOINTS IN WALL CONSTRUCTION Herbert A. Osborne, Brookville, Pa.

Application July 20, 1932. Serial No. 623,609

' 5 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in spacers for the joints between the several units forming a wall constructed of brick, tile, stone, terra-cotta and the like.

Under present methods of construction the thickness of the joints is determined and depends entirely upon the mechanics ability to judge the thickness and uniformity of the joints by sight, making it impossible to obtain perfect and uni- 1 form joints throughout the entire structure.

Furthermore, where it is desirable to have small or narrow joints between the units, as for instance, when flat tile is employed, it is practically impossible to obtain the smaller joint with any degree of uniformity and at a great cost.

With the present invention these objections are overcome, and provision is made for determining the thickness of the vertical and horizontal joints in the laying of the wall by applying to a face of each unit a resilient spacer member which extends over the ends of the unit and determines the thickness of the mortar joint or bond by the thickness of the spacer member.

The invention consists of certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and .pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of a portion of a wall provided with uniform mortar joints;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view showing the invention applied to the building units for producing the uniform mortar joints;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View showing the 5 spacer member between two adjoining building units;

Fig. 4 is a perspective of the spacer member; Fig. 5 is a detailed view in section illustrating a slightly modified form of spacer member show- 0 ing the downturned ends bent into a channel of the building unit; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view illustrating an application of the invention to a corner block.

In the drawing the invention has been shown applied to a tile, but it is to be understood that it is applicable to brick, terra-cotta, stone and the like. The tile 10 as shown is hollow, and applied to the upper face thereof is the spacer member 11 formed of a rod of wire or bar metal.

The spacer member 11 is preferably constructed of a resilient piece of wire, or of some material having the necessary elasticity to permit it to be sprung over the tile or brick. The spacer member has downturned ends 12 and 13 which The downturned end 12 engaging the end of the tile 10 adjacent one longitudinal side and the other end 13 engaging the opposite end of the tile adjacent the opposite longitudinal side. The main or body portion of the spacer member is preferably bent in a zig-zag or undulating fashion, so that considerable of the upper surface area of the tile is covered by the spacer member 11. Fashioning the spacer member 11 in this manner gives it the necessary resiliency to permit the spacer member to be sprung or expanded over the upper surface of the tile and caused to engage the ends of the tile, while the main or body portion of the spacer member will lie flat upon the tile surface and the ends snugly engage the ends of the tile.

In laying the wall, the various units of tile or brick will each be provided with a spacer member applied to a surface thereof, and as a tile is laid upon another in the formation of the wall the necessary amount of mortar is first applied to the face of the tile having the spacer member 11 thereon. The excess mortar is struck off above the spacer member, and then a tile is placed thereon and pressed down until the base of the tile contacts with the spacer member. The zigzag formation of the spacer member 11 will cause the member to engage an equal surface area of the base of the uppermost tile as is engaged by the lowermost tile, so that when the two tiles are united, there will be substantially no mortar between the spacer member and the faces of the tiles engaged thereby, and a uniform depth of. mortar joint obtained.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the ends of the tiles are in abutting relation with an end of each spacer member 11 of the two tiles in engagement with an end of the adjoining tiles, forming two contact points between the abutting ends. The mortar is applied in the usual manner and the. two tiles brought together and the ends 1213 of the spacer members caused to engage an end of the adjacent tiles, and thereby obtaining a mortar joint of a thickness equal to that of the ends of the spacer member 11. In this manner, a uniform depth or thickness of the horizontal and vertical mortar joints are obtained and at a material reduction of costs in the erection of a wall.

The spacer member 11 by its zig-zag construc- 3 tion affords a surface area for the overlying tiles or blocks and forms a means of supporting and insuring the alinement as well as the level in setting the tile regardless as to the manner of forming the courses of the tile in the formation of the wall, and the uniformity of the depth or thickness of the horizontal and vertical mortar joints will be maintained throughout the wall, making it possible to erect the wall more cheaply and with greater uniformity in the depth of the mortar joints. The size and thickness of the wire spacer member will be governed by the size and character of the units to be laid as well as the depth or thickness of mortar joint desired for the particular purpose.

What I claim is:

1. A spacer for the joints between the units of a wall, comprising a rod of resilient material I having downturned ends adapted to be sprung over a unit and to extend over the surface thereof with the ends of the rod engaging the ends of the unit for gauging the depth of the mortar joint between the overlying and adjoining units.

2. A spacer for the joints between the units of a wall, consisting of a metal rod having a resilient body portion bent in zig-zag fashion and downwardly extending ends, said body portion and downwardly extending ends adapted to be sprung over the units with the body portion lying adjacent a surface of the unit and the ends projecting over the ends of the unit for forming a gauge to determine the depth of the mortar joints between the overlying and adjoining units.

3. A spacer for the joints between the units of a wall, consisting of a metal rod having a body portion bent in zig-zag fashion and downwardly extending ends, said zig-zag formation of the body portion permitting the rod to be expanded so that the ends of the rod will be projected over the ends of the unit and the body portion forming a support for an overlying unit, said body portion and ends thereof forming a gauge to determine the depth of the mortar joints between the overlying and adjoining units.

'4. A spacer for the joints between the units of a wall, comprising a metal rod extending over the surface of a unit and having downwardly extending end portions projecting over the ends of theunit for positioning the rod on the unit and determining the depth of the mortar joint between the overlying and adjoining units of the wall.

5. A spacer for the joints between the units of a wall, consisting of a metal rod having a body portion bent in zig-zag fashion and downwardly extending ends, said body portion adapted to overlie a unit and the ends of the rod projecting over the ends of the unit for positioning the rod on the unit and gauging the depth of the mortar joints between the overlying and adjoining units.

HERBERT A. OSBORNE. 

